PROPOSED New USCIS Fees (Oct 2, 2020) – NOT IN EFFECT DUE TO COURT INJUNCTION

Immigration benefit request Current fee $ Final fee $ Change ($) Percentage change I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (online filing) 455 405 −50 −11 I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (paper filing) 455 415 −40 −9 I-102 Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document 445 485 40 9 I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant worker 460 N/A N/A N/A …

4th Circuit Upholds Block of Anti-Abortion Rule

In a 9 to 6 en banc published ruling on September 3, 2020, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court injunction preventing implementation of a agency rule designed to prevent abortion counseling or referral by medical personnel on the grounds that it improperly violated medical ethics, interfering with the physician patient relationship, and improperly imposed costs on …

USCIS cancels planned massive furloughs

U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND Immigration Services said Tuesday that it has halted plans to furlough 70% of its workforce on Sunday, saving some 13,400 employees from temporary layoff and averting a near-total shut down of the legal immigration system. The agency warned, however, that furloughs could still take place in the future unless Congress acts to stabilize USCIS’s finances. USCIS is the …

Restrictions to Work Authorization for Asylum Applicants to Begin on August 25,2020

USCIS announced a final rule modifying DHS’s regulations governing asylum applications, interviews and eligibility for employment authorization based on a pending asylum application. Applicants for an initial or renewal employment authorization document under the (c)(8) eligibility category must submit biometrics and pay the biometric services fee. There are also new questions applicants must complete based on a pending asylum application. USCIS will not …

US immigration services set to furlough two-thirds of its workers after coronavirus stimulus talks fail

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services notified about 13,400 of its 20,000 employees that they would be furloughed Aug. 30 because of budget shortfalls, which the agency hoped Congress would fill in its next relief package before negotiations stalled last week.  “In the past few months, USCIS has taken action to avert a fiscal crisis, including limiting spending to salary and …

Trump administration has put DACA applications ‘on hold’ despite Supreme Court ruling restoring program

Trump administration officials said during a federal court hearing Friday that they have not “granted nor rejected” any applications for a program designed to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation, but rather have put them “on hold” as the government discusses the future of the program. The virtual hearing in the U.S. District Court in Maryland was the first time …

USCIS must accept new DACA applications in the 4th Circuit

USCIS must accept new DACA application in the 4th Circuit and may accept those  filed in all other circuits.  Historically, USCIS rescinded DACA.  The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the rescission and restored DACA to pre-rescission status.  IBLF recommended new DACA  applications.  USCIS then denied new DACA applications. Last week, Maryland District Court stopped USCIS from denying new DACA applications and …

Trump administration reverses course on foreign student ban

The Trump administration has reversed course over a new rule that would have banned some international students from studying in the U.S. this fall. The measure would have required international students to transfer schools or leave the country if their colleges hold classes entirely online because of the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Massachusetts said Harvard University and …